Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Well, a quiet offseason isn't quiet anymore. 

Wednesday afternoon, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Buss family is selling most of its ownership stake to Dodgers owner Mark Walter at a price that values the franchise at about $10 billion. (The Athletic reports that number might rise to $12 billion.) It's a stunning development in some ways, somewhat foreseeable in others. And the end result—Walter takes ownership of the team—...

The Lakers need a center. Everyone knows it. Getting one, however, won't be easy. 

Earlier in the week, we broke down the challenge of filling the hole through free agency. There aren't that many good centers on the market, and the Lakers can't offer all that much money. So that leaves the trade market. And there, the Lakers only have a few genuinely marketable assets. There's the first round pick they can offer, Dalton Knecht, and ...

There was no real expectation that the Lakers could make a play for Houston center Steven Adams. The Rockets didn't want him to get away, and certainly wouldn't let it happen for the slightly-less-than-$6 million a year the LA can offer. But when Adams re-upped with the Rockets for $39 mil over three years, it's possible the Lakers hoped that number would be a little less. 

If Adams is worth $13 mil a year, how much will someone pay...

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Sunday began with the NBA's first blockbuster move of the offseason, as the Memphis Grizzlies sent guard Desmond Bane to Orlando for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and -- this is the big part -- four first round picks. 

That is a big haul for a player who is an excellent shooter and a high end contributor, but nonetheless has never made an All-Star team. 

So what's going on here? 

First of all, it shakes up the West. The first...

One of the quiet underperformances of the playoffs for the Lakers was forward Dorian Finney-Smith, who essentially disappeared in five against the Timberwolves. One reason? He wasn't healthy, something confirmed on Thursday when it was reported that DFS underwent surgery to clean up a problematic left ankle. It's been bugging him for a while—he was banged up when the Lakers acquired him from Brooklyn—and the Lakers had to do some m...

Every offseason, Luka Dončić is subject to criticisms about his level of fitness. This offseason brings plenty of that, but in a new context. This is the first time that Luka can't shrug off the chatter by pointing at his numbers. He's coming off of, for him, a subpar season. The Dallas Mavericks essentially said he's a bad bet, not worth the risk that would come with signing him to an extension. 

It might be a little much to call i...

Tuesday, we talked a lot about the possibility—remote as it may be—that the Lakers could acquire Utah's Walker Kessler. It's a long shot first because there's no indication that while the Jazz might be willing to listen to offers for their young big, that they are actually interested in trading him. Second, the Lakers would struggle to put a package together that would appeal to Utah (without overpaying, at least). 

So what about ot...

The Lakers badly need a center. Everyone knows it. 

Walker Kessler is a very good young pivot who rebounds, can catch a lob and has fantastic defensive metrics. He's the kind of player a team could build around. Buuuuuuuuut, reports out of Utah say they're listening to everything this offseason. Some guys (Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, John Collins) might be available, but someone like Kessler? For the right deal, they'd listen. 

O...

The Lakers have some work to do this summer to improve the team enough to realistically compete for a title, but multiple reports indicate that might not be so easy. 

Why? Not just because the price for certain players (namely centers) might be steep, but because the rest of the league might be in the mood to punish them for being gifted Luka Dončić at the trade deadline. The Athletic's Jovan Buha (among others) reports that the "La...

Many tried to sell this NBA Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana as a clunker. Two small market teams without the league's biggest stars (even though it does have, you know, it's MVP). Well, Game 1 showed how much potential for sheer entertainment this series contains. 

A jumper from Tyrese Haliburton won the game for the Pacers with .3 seconds left on the clock. 

Indiana's depth was on display, something the Lakers could certain...

The NBA has become a wasteland for coaches over the last few months. This week, the Knicks canned Tom Thibodeau, despite just having made the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Why? The reasons are still emerging, but it's reasonable to say that Thibs is someone who tends to wear on players and organizations over time. The same can be said for Michael Malone, who did last a decade in Denver but clearly wore through his welcome despite havi...

Basically every Lakers fan knows that Luka Dončić is eligible for a contract extension this offseason. Everyone knows that the Lakers will give Luka whatever it is he wants, whether talking dollars, years, player options and whatever. 

What people may not know is just how long Luka has to make this decision. most of the good parts of the NBA offseason will be past by the time his date of eligibility rolls around. That's August 2nd. ...

The Lakers will be looking to upgrade their talent any way they can going into next, year, and will have to get pretty creative about it. 

One source of improvement for the rotation that might be a little unexpected? How about Bronny James? 

That, via long time NBA writer Sean Deveney: "And it appears the Lakers are dead-set on pushing for Bronny James to be part of the rotation next year. "I don't think there's any doubt that's thei...

The NBA Finals are here, and the mediasphere seems unsure of what to do with a series that doesn't include big cities or the most name brand stars. 

Still, a Finals that features the league's MVP, along with a fantastic story out of the East (Tyrese Haliburton, going from spare part/meme on the Olympic team to Eastern Conference champ) should be something the NBA can market. And they should lean into it, because at some point it has...

There are a lot of ways teams are building winners around the NBA right now. One of the big topics of conversation is depth. 

Oklahoma City is already in the Finals. They've got depth in almost cartoonish quantities. Indiana is expected to join them, and have plenty of depth as well. 

The Lakers, as you may have heard, are lacking in that department. Whether it was a good idea or not, teams with reliable depth don't go entire halves ...

After a season of upheaval, Lakers need to figure out how to create an identity heading into next year. The good news is that Rob Pelinka and Co. don't have to do a lot of thinking to figure out the core of that identity - It's Luka Dončić. The identity is a team that plays hard, plays defense, plays unselfishly. Sure. All teams say that. But the path to that is figuring out how to create those attributes with players that fit beau...

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, LeBron James plans to pick up his player option for 2026, worth about $52.5 mil. 

While Shams noted there's still time for things to change, this appears to be the most likely outcome for LeBron and the Lakers. And in some ways, it's the most expected, given the options. While there was always the dream (pipe dream, really) that James might leave about $20 mil on the table so that the Lakers would...

Last week, early reports of Luka Dončić dedicating himself more seriously to fitness were giving Lakers fans some encouragement. 

This weekend, things looked even better. In the form of pictures! From Luka's Insta page, and from pictures taken of him in the crowd at Real Madrid and even food pics from his wife's social media. We saw a thinner looking player, and what appeared to be a healthy, delicious meal! So only a few weeks afte...